3. Old is the New New

Jaeger Le-Coultre Master Geographic (Photo Courtesy: Gear Patrol)

The practice of watch brands digging into their archive and bringing back their historically popular timepieces has been around for a long time, but 2016 has proven to be an exceptionally big year for vintage re-issues, both in terms of volume and quality. Not only did we see a range of manufactures creating homage pieces that are pleasantly faithful to their very predecessors that inspired them, they also managed to pull it off without coming across as lazy or uncreative, an affliction that re-issues have from time to time. Some very obvious examples include the new Rolex Daytona with black ceramic insert that became a runaway hit, thanks to its aesthetic resemblance with the legendary, vintage "Big Red" Rolex Daytona ref. 6263. Longines, a brand that has consistently excelled with revitalising its products from past eras, came out gunning with the Heritage 1969 Automatic (we wrote about it here), amongst others. Even Vacheron Constantin, the oldest existing high horology house, threw its hat into the ring at one point with their very classic Historiques Cornes de Vache 1955, inspired by a chronograph of theirs from the year, well, 1955.

We don't expect the phenomenon to slow down a bit in 2017. As the adage goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. And we are already seeing that adage being played out in this year's SIHH.

The just-unveiled Master Control Date, Master Geographic and Master Chronograph from Jaeger Le-Coultre showcased exactly how it should be done. They are all endowed with a very mid-21st-century sector dial (meaning the dial is divided up into "sectors" by short, straight lines distributed around the watch face) while carry modern features such as the hour and minute hands with in contemporary shape. It's been a while since the watch community at large - whose affinity to vintage pieces have grown exponentially over the past few years - has become so excited about a timepiece debut as such. Old is definitely the new new.

A Patek Philippe Ref. 1463 in stainless steel made in 1940s featuring a sector dial.

4. Downsizing

We are now living in a world dominated by large watches, with the likes of 47mm Radiomir and 48mm Big Bang finding their way to people's wrists more than ever. 36mm is considered "mid-size" or for ladies. Which is ridiculous. As the watchmaking maestro Philippe Dufour once said, any watches larger than 38mm are already going out of proportion, which I feel is true. Sometimes when I try on even a 44m Panerai, I feel like I'm being engulfed by its sheer presence and dimensions - it's as if it is wearing me, instead of the other way round. But for some reason, the industry has been flirting with ever-increasing case size since I don't know when, which never fails to baffle me.

And luckily, in 2016 we see many watchmakers returning to normal, releasing a whole slew of sub-40mm timepieces that are pretty much perfect in their own way.

The Tudor Black Bay 36, or better known as "baby Black Bay", is a 36-mm, dressier rendition of the original Tudor Black Bay that retained several key aesthetic elements that nobody saw coming, but we're so glad it did. This is meant to be an unisex watch that works well both with a bracelet and a strap and more importantly, you can finally wear a Black Bay to the office without having to look ever so slightly out of place, thanks to its restrained appeal.

Tudor Black Bay 36 (Photo Courtesy: Horbiter)

On the high horology side, A. Lange & Söhne delivered what might be the most affordable superlative dress watch ever created: the Saxonia Thin, available in both 37mm and 40mm cases. It's clean, sharp, and it doesn't cut corner whatsoever with its finishing and construction. If simplicity is indeed the ultimate sophistication, the 37mm Saxonia Thin might just be the embodiment of horological sophistication. And damn, it just looks so classy.

First of all, Happy New Year! Lengbeau would like to wish you all a very successful year ahead. And of course, happy watch hunting!

2016 has been a bittersweet year for the watchmaking scene, to say the least. Sales figures were subdued. Cost cutting a key theme for the better part of the industry. People sacked. And China spending much less on watches compared to before, thanks to the government's anti-graft campaign. Let's just say the industry has seen better days.

Yet, despite the numerous reasons that could theoratically cause the industy to go under, luxuy watches are still being made and companies are still up and running. Barely, perhaps, but they are here to stay. And it's during difficult time that the industry demonstrates its creativity and wit best. And 2016 has proven to be the perfect testament to that.

With 2016 squarely behind us, we reckon this is a good time to do some stocktaking and recount the key trends that largely defined the year - memorable no matter how you look at it - for the watch industry and more importantly, to look to the future and offer our estimate as to which of these currents are likely to carry over into the 2017.